35 new measles cases reported south of London in past week

Angela McInnes · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 10, 2025 11:51 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

Southwestern Public Health (SWPH) says measles successful its jurisdiction person grown to instrumentality up astir of the province's outbreak, with 35 caller cases reported successful the past 7 days.

The full fig of cases reported successful the the country covering Elgin and Oxford Counties, arsenic good arsenic the City of St. Thomas, is present 343 since October 2024 - much than fractional of the province's full of 655 arsenic of April 2. 

Thirty-five of those cases person required hospitalization astatine immoderate point, said aesculapian serviceman of wellness Dr. Ninh Tran, and more than 90 per cent have been successful idiosyncratic who has not been immunized. 

"My connection contiguous is for parents and guardians successful our region," Tran said during a media briefing Thursday. "If you person children attending schoolhouse oregon childcare, it is important to cognize what to expect if determination was a measles vulnerability successful 1 of these settings." 

The wellness portion is required to analyse imaginable exposures aft receiving a affirmative measles trial result, helium said. While steps are taken to archer the nationalist they whitethorn person been exposed, there's nary warrant the wellness portion tin scope everyone. 

"The radical who've had 2 doses of measles-containing vaccine are mostly not astatine hazard from that vulnerability arsenic well," Tran added. "Those calved earlier 1970 are mostly not astatine risk. Under-immunized oregon unimmunized individuals are astatine hazard from that exposure." 

The bulk of cases reported to SWPH — much than 73 per cent — continue to beryllium successful radical nether the property of 18. The numbers are portion of the largest measles outbreak Canada has seen successful much than a decade. 

A memo from Ontario's main aesculapian serviceman of wellness Dr. Kieran Moore successful March confirmed that the existent outbreak was from a "large gathering with guests from Mennonite communities successful New Brunswick past fall."

There has been an uptick successful vaccinations crossed each ages, said Tran. They are up 130 per cent betwixt January 1st and April 8th compared to the aforesaid play past year. 

Tran is besides urging parents to update their child's vaccination records aft getting immunized. It prevention a batch of clip and effort for the wellness portion if a vaccine registry was digitized, helium added. 

"Either radical can't look to find them, truthful they person to contact their healthcare supplier and past report to us," helium said. 

"[A integer registry] would prevention a batch of further clip and vigor for parents, for healthcare providers and arsenic acold arsenic ourselves and it would truly assistance usher our response. That would beryllium incredible." 

Most radical successful the state inactive way their shots connected paper, which the Ontario Immunization Advisory Committee is encouraging the Ministry of Health to change. 

The committee said successful a presumption connection that it "strongly urges" the state to make an physics immunization registry, which would regenerate the existent method of keeping way of shots connected yellowish paper.